Survivor Hinchinbrook (Cont)

Days 2 and 3 were tough and come to think of it, so was day 4. Hot, humid and long days of hiking. Day 2 had us going up and over a saddle (260 m above sea) while Day 3 was just plain long. But to keep us interested and take our mind away from the heat and tired feet Hinchinbrook gave us a wide variety of landscapes and a few critters to enjoy - from rainforest to mangroves to grasslands to rocky and sandy beaches. One thing we did notice though was the further north we went the dryer it became, which was confirmed by the few other hikers we met along the way walking in the opposite direction. So on the third day we filled up all our water containers and hoped it would be enough to last us for the remainder of our time on Hinchinbrook

Day 2

Before the saddle. The team resting at Dimantina Creek, only 1 km out from the first camp site, already hot and tired. Thats what you get when you have a sleep in and a swim before starting out. Hinchinbrook was going to make us pay for that

Up the saddle

Half way down the saddle. Paul and Terrie cooling their feet (above) and me (below) pondering the meaning of it all while taking in the view of Zoe Bay, our camp site for the night. It still seems so far away....

Half an hour out of camp the long awaited Zoe Falls appeared (below) and another fresh water swim to soothe tired muscles and feet and reinvigorate the mind. This was the last waterhole on the walk and it was sorely missed on the following days.

We finally made it to our campsite and it didn't take Terrie long to nervously point out the mangroves lining one side of the bay. The croc warning sign on the beach gave us further indication that we may not be alone.....

No time to think about that now as we only had an hour left of daylight to pitch our tents and start dinner. It wasn't the most restful sleep as I had no idea what sound a croc makes and there are a lot of critters up and about in the middle of the night and not afraid to get close to the tent.